


Chameleons

by killerweasel



Category: Sherlock - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-18
Updated: 2012-11-18
Packaged: 2017-11-19 00:47:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/567165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerweasel/pseuds/killerweasel





	Chameleons

Title: Chameleons  
Fandom: _Sherlock_  
Characters: Molly Hooper, Jim Moriarty  
Word Count: 1,071  
Rating: PG-13  
A/N: AU after _The Great Game_

About a month after what Sherlock referred to as ‘the pool incident’, Molly came home from work to find Jim sitting on her couch. At first she was frightened because she knew he’d broken in and thought he was there to kill her. Then the anger she’d been feeling about him came to a boil. Molly stalked her way over to the couch and swung her bag as hard as she could. It caught Jim in the side of the head, almost knocking him off the couch. She could hear herself shouting things in his direction, but had no idea what she was saying.

Jim’s hand darted out, grabbing her wrist. His touch was there and gone so quickly it actually made Molly pause. He wasn’t going to hurt her or he would have done something by now. Either that or he was still stunned from the blow to the head. She could see a trickle of blood running down from his scalp. Jim touched the source of the wound. He chuckled softly as he pulled out his pocket square and pressed it against the cut.

She had never seen him dressed this nicely before. Whenever they’d gone out, Jim always wore casual clothing. Jim glanced at the bag in her hand as if he was trying to figure out if she was going to take another swing at him or not. Molly sat down in the chair across from him. She should probably call the police or Sherlock. If she did though, she wouldn’t find out why he was here. Molly raised an eyebrow.

Jim smiled at her. He pulled the pocket square away, admired the crimson splattered on it, and then pressed it against his head again. “You have one hell of a swing.”

The snort of amusement escaped before Molly could stop it. “Why are you here, Jim? Shouldn’t you be bothering Sherlock or blowing something up?”

“I need you to do something for me.” He sighed, sinking back against the couch. “You can say no.”

She stared at him for a moment. Why on earth should she do anything for Jim after he’d just used her to get to Sherlock? She’d actually liked Jim, damn it. He’d been nice and sweet, even bringing her flowers a few times. She wanted to ask him if any of it had been real. He was the first person to really see her. Before Jim had come into her life, Molly had concluded she was invisible. The only time people really noticed her was when they wanted her to do something for them. It hadn’t been that way with Jim.

Jim cleared his throat. “Would it help if I told you it would save someone’s life, Molly?”

Something in Jim’s tone caused a knot to start forming in the pit of Molly’s stomach. He reminded her of her father towards the end of his life. She bit her lip. “Do you need to be saved, Jim?” Her words were soft and she swore she saw him flinch.

“You’re one of the good ones. Don’t ever let that change.” Molly could still hear the tone from before. If anything, it had worsened to something very much like despair. Jim pulled the cloth away from his head and tucked it back into his pocket. “You have no idea what this is like. If you could live in my head for even half an hour, you’d go completely mad.”

Against her better judgment, Molly got up and joined Jim on the couch. She shifted her body so it was brushing against his. “Talk to me. Please.”

Jim leaned his head until it was resting on her shoulder. His eyes fluttered closed as he took a deep breath. Then he began to talk. Molly’s hand found its way up his spine and gently began stroking his hair. She felt him shudder and wondered if he ever let anyone else see him like this. Somehow she doubted it.

This was the Jim she had known, not the evil madman she’d been told about. When he had been with her, he had the chance to be like everyone else. Like Molly, Jim could blend in to the point where people didn’t notice him. He tended to use that ability to his advantage though. It took a great deal of energy on his part in order to be ordinary, to be normal. Being ordinary would actually calm the constant stream of thoughts in his head to a trickle. It could also keep the boredom at bay. When Jim described what the boredom felt like, Molly felt a chill go down her spine. She wondered if it felt the same way for Sherlock. That certainly would explain quite a few things about the consulting detective.

Her breath caught in her throat when Jim talked about Sherlock. What he was saying made sense in a horrible, twisted way. This wasn’t about saving Jim; this was about saving Sherlock from what was coming. Jim had already decided he wasn’t capable of being saved and nothing Molly could say or do would be able to sway him.

It would end in one final, very complicated game. There were events to set in motion and more players to recruit. Once the ball really got rolling, nothing would be able to stop it. Jim carefully went over what Molly’s role would be. She had him clarify a few things, wanting to be totally sure of her involvement. While her role wasn’t the most important, the things she did would have an impact on the game as a whole.

By the time Jim finished speaking, Molly was exhausted. She ran a shaking hand over her face and was surprised to find her cheeks were damp. Jim sat up slowly. He looked as drained as she felt. “Will you do it, Molly?”

“Of course I will.”

\---

When Molly saw Sherlock get on the elevator, she knew the game he and Jim had been playing for months was finally coming to an end. She’d followed her part of the plan to the letter, even when it felt like her heart was being crushed. With trembling fingers, Molly pulled her phone out and pushed a button. The phone rang until it rolled over to voicemail. As Molly closed her eyes and waited for the game to finish, she swore she could hear the music to ‘Stayin’ Alive’.


End file.
